Matthias gates



(No Model.)

M. GATES.

SAFETY HARNESS BITCH.

No. 333,406.- Patented'Dec. 2 y

WITN ESSES :to the cost of either.

NITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

MATTHIAS GATES, or KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 333,406, dated December 29, 1885.

Application filed October 13, 1885. Serial No. 179,805.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MATTHIAS GATES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Quick and Safety Harness-Hitch; and I dodeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a representation of the invention and shows its application. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the snap. Fig. 3 is a perspective view-of both parts of the snap separated.

My invention relates to a quick and safety harness-hitch adapted to vehicles employing thills, and it consistsin the construction and novel combination of parts, as will be 'hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, 'V designates a portion of the front of a buggy, which is sufficient to illustrate an application of my invention.

T designates the thills, and A2 the singletree.

The improvement is applicable to all single harness that may have been already constructed, by simply cutting the tugs in two about six inches in front of the breeching buckles and riveting the ends of the tugs thus severed to the snaps hereinafter described.

In new harness the construction will from the first embody the improvements, so that the improvements will be applicable to both classes of harness without materially adding The rear parts, A A', of the tugs are secured to the single-tree A2 in any of the ways commonly practiced, and always remain in place. The front parts, B B', of the tugs form permanent parts of the harness, and leave the thills with the harness as the animal wearing the harness moves out of the thills, this harness-hitch thereby serving as a horse-detacher.

The snaps by which the severed or sectional tugs are connected are rights and lefts, but are (No model.)

C. On its under face the flange D is provided intermediate of its ends with a downwardlyprojecting stop, E, against which the hinged loop E abuts or strikes when said loop is drawn back. This hinged loop E' is held normally in the closed position by a spring, E2, which is secured to the rear face of the attaching-fiange E3, projecting from the rear end of the buckle-frame C. rlhe hinged loop E is provided on its upper end with an upwardlyprojecting thumb-piece, F, by which the hinged loop may be moved or turned on its hinge to open the snaps when the operator has alighted from the vehicle. The hinged loop E' is also provided at its front side with a short inclined arm, F', extending rearwardly, and having an eye, F, at its rear end, to which eye the forward end of the detaching-cord F3 is connected, said detaching-cord extending back to the vehicle within easy reach of the driver. The angular flange D is provided with a notch, D2, about the middle of its length, in which the front side or arm of the hinged loop E rests when the loop is closed. Immediately in front of the notch D2 is an upwardly-projecting pointed guide-spur, G, which serves also as a stop for the bevel-faced block H, secured to the rear end of the part B or front section of the tug. This bevel-faced block H is provided with an end flange, H', which is riveted to the rear end of the front section, B, of the tug by rivet H2. The longer bevel or incline H3 of the bevel-faced block H is provided with a transverse groove, H", in which the front side of the hinged loop E rests when the two parts of the snaps are connected. To the shorter incline I of the block H is secured a short arm, I', which may be integral with said block, if desired, and to this arm I is riveted one end of a strap, J, the other end of which strap J is secured to a breech-strap, K, by a buckle, L. The holdback-strap M is secured to a loop, N, projecting downwardly from the under face of the angular ange D, near the forward end of the latter, so that the hold- IOO back-strap M does not need to be undoneA For breast-strap harness separate the short incline 4 from the longer one by withdrawing the screw, and in case the tug is lengthened take up the strap m and lengthen strap J, and to shorten the tug reverse the operation.

In all cases, if desired, detach the horse from the buggy before getting out.`

Having described this invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. The combination, with a tug-section provided at its forward 'end with a buckle-frame having a tapering notched flange along its under side, with a downwardly-projecting loop and an upwardly-projecting guide-spur near the forward end of said tapering flange, a holdback-strap attached to said downwardly-projecting loop, the spring-pressed hinged loop, and operating-cord, of a tug-section provided at its rear end with the bevel-faced transversely-notched block H, provided with "the short arm I', substantially as specified.`

2. The combination, with the part'A, of the tug provided with the buckle-frame having the tapering flange along its lower side provided with the downwardly-projecting loop near its forward end, and the holdback-strap connected to said downwardly-proj ecting loop, substantially as specified.

3. The combination, with the tapering buckleefrarne having the tapering notched flange along its lower side, of the hinged loop with the fingerpiece at its upper end and the spring bearing against said loop, as set forth. 4o

1i. A safety harness-hitch consisting of a sectional tug, a spring-pressed fastening device, and a detaching-cord, one section of the tug having bevel-faced transversely-notched. block, and the adjacent end of the opposite 45 section having the fastening device consisting of a spring-pressed hinge-loop, and the releasing-cord connected with the said hinged loop, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof Iafx my signature in 5o presence of two witnesses.

MATTHIAS GATES.

Witnesses:

W. C. BRANHAM, C. L. BLANCHARD. 

